Gravesend is a town in northwest Kent, England, on the south bank of the Thames, opposite Tilbury in Essex. It is the administrative town of the Borough of Gravesham and, because of its geographical position, has always had an important role to play in the history and communications of this part of England. It still retains today a strong link with the river. The opening of the Eurostar railway station at Ebbsfleet, and the fact that it lies with...
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Gravesend is a town in northwest Kent, England, on the south bank of the Thames, opposite Tilbury in Essex. It is the administrative town of the Borough of Gravesham and, because of its geographical position, has always had an important role to play in the history and communications of this part of England. It still retains today a strong link with the river. The opening of the Eurostar railway station at Ebbsfleet, and the fact that it lies with the Thames Gateway, add to the town's importance.
The town was recorded as Gravesham in the Domesday Book in 1086 as belonging to Odo, Bishop of Bayeux: the name probably derived from "graaf-ham": the home of the Reeve, or Bailiff, of the Lord of the Manor. Another theory suggests that the name Gravesham may be a corruption of the words grafs-ham – a place "at the end of the grove". The Domesday spelling is the only historical record; all other spellings - in the later (c1100) Domesday Monarchorum and in Textus Roffensis the town is Gravesend...
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